Voting, elections, etc

Started: 2006-11-13 19:33:15

Submitted: 2006-11-13 19:52:08

Visibility: World-readable

So it looks like I got most of
what I
wanted; a 51-to-49 spread in the Senate could be considered
deadlocked, since it takes 60 votes to break a filibuster and do
anything controversial. That's not all that surprising, especially since
the Bush administration seems to have lost their talking points on the
War on Terror or the War in Iraq. (Turns Republicans tend to say
"Terror" and Democrats tend to say "Iraq" -- the first is represented as a
desperate struggle against an existential threat, and the second is
represented as a Vietnam-class quagmire, with desert replacing jungle.)
What completely shocked me was Bush's
firing of
Donald Rumsfeld -- and the fact that it made headlines on the day
after the election -- the least likely day to have any political
impact. I would have suggested maximizing the impact of a policy change
by announcing Rumsfeld's resignation before the election, but maybe Rove
was a bit over-confident about having
THE
math. Nothing like a resounding defeat in Congress to send a message
that the electorate disapproves of the president's handling of Iraq, and
there's one perfect scapegoat.

Right. Enough complaining about foreign policy.
In related news, one of the last contested House seats (in
Florida, which should merely induce crying)
lost
18,000 votes. Or more accurately, 13% of voters using electronic
poll equipment didn't cast any ballot for any Congressional candidate,
compared to 2.5% of absentee ballots and 2% and 5% in neighboring
counties in the same district. This is in a district where the
Republican candidate won by 373 votes. Hurrah for unverifiable voting.

(Somewhat ironically, Sarasota County voters approved a ballot
initiative that will require the county to return to paper ballots for
future elections.)

On Thursday, I'm going to fly to Los Angeles for a four-hour meeting at
$CUSTOMER, then fly back home that evening. The great part is I don't
have to take any luggage. And did I mention I get paid for travel time?
Being a mercenary has distinct advantages.